When he was just 6 or 7, he began selling the watermelons, onions and other fruit and vegetables brought home by his grandfather from his little red wagon so he could make money to buy candy at the corner store.

The Texas native owns a restaurant in Hattiesburg, La Mexicana, which he bought from his mother, Minerva Avalos, on Jan. 23, 2012. And you will find him selling tamales and other delectable dishes every Thursday afternoon at the downtown Hattiesburg farmers market.

La Mexicana, which also included a grocery store, was located on Mississippi 42. Molina moved the restaurant and store to U.S. 49 to give them more visibility.

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Carlos Molina is a single dad of two, runs his own restaurant and catering and helps others with community service. He also graduated from USM in May. On Thursday he sells his restaurants tamales at the downtown Farmer's Market. (Photo11: Susan Broadbridge/Hattiesburg American)

He also separated the store from the restaurant to make it easier to run each business, often running back and forth between the two to help customers.

After a while it began to be too much for Molina, so he sold the store to focus on the restaurant. He does financial counseling with the new owners to help them make it successful.

Molina said he likes to lead by example and treats each employee with respect.

In addition to running a restaurant, Molina was going to school, first earning an associate's degree in the arts from Pearl River Community College and then a bachelor's degree in international business from the University of Southern Mississippi.

He graduated in May. It took him seven years to cross the finish line.

"He was a very good student — very involved, wanting to be a part of things," said Mac Forsyth, a professor in the Department of Finance at Southern Miss. "And to be a nontraditional student, it's very difficult at times, but Carlos seemed to bridge that gap quite easily — or quite effectively anyway — I don't know that it was easy.

"He's exceptional, he certainly is."

Community involvement

Molina is the founder of the El Grito Latin Festival, the city's Hispanic heritage festival, holding the first event in 2013.

Molina and a group of friends were talking about how there wasn't anything for the community to celebrate Hispanic culture in Hattiesburg. They decided they would do something to change that.

But like with many good intentions, those friends didn't come through so Molina and his then-wife put the festival together on their own.

"Everything was great initially, but when it was time to make it come to fruition, everybody scattered," Molina said.

He gathered support from other Hispanic businesses that helped him get the festival off the ground. He wanted the festival to not only reach Hispanics, but to show elements of Latin culture to other residents of the Pine Belt.

"Showing people our differences make us stronger," he said.

The event was a success, but between running the restaurant, store and school work, Molina wasn't able to bring back the festival the following year.

In 2015, he was working with Kathryn Rehner, who at the time was the city's program coordinator for the E3 Health Initiative, to help her reach the city's Hispanic community.

"Carlos is a very energetic, eager person who really wants Hattiesburg to have a lot of diverse opportunities," she said. "He helped with providing resources and information to the Hispanic community here in Hattiesburg."

During their many conversations about health care and other resources, they talked about El Grito. One day he asked Rehner to help him get it going again.

Rehner was able to pick up where Molina left off, and the festival has been held annually since 2015.

"He asked if I'd be willing to lead the charge for the festival," she said. "And it's been great. I was able to make it part of my job to be able to facilitate the effort.

"He helped spread the word, put in ideas for the festival and helped with (entertainment) and making sure it was culturally relevant."

Rehner said Molina helps out with the farmers market and at various city events, volunteering whenever an opportunity arises.

"Carlos is wonderful," Rehner said. "I think the thing I appreciate and respect about him as a business owner and community member is he really does try to give back to his community. And he's willing to work with just about anybody.

"He is so involved because it's the right thing to do."

Based on his experience with El Grito, Molina is helping a friend get an event started that would showcase Indian culture.

Molina also is a notary public. He often uses that service to help people with various legal issues, especially those without other resources.

For example, one of the things he does is help straighten out birth certificate issues because names are placed differently on documentation in other countries. Parents don't always know that, so a child's birth certificate doesn't have the name in the traditional order used in the United States.

This can cause problems later when trying to register a child for school or signing up for health care.

He helps the parents work with the government and other officials to get names corrected.

"If I am able to help out, I do," he said.

Many of those he helps are single mothers and immigrants.

"I haven't always had a pleasant experience with the legal system, but I think for the most part Hattiesburg is fairly progressive and fair when it comes to immigrants," Molina said. "There are some people in the legal system who actually care."

Rehner said Molina spends a lot of time helping with resources and information for the Hispanic community and is an all-around go-to person.

"As a businessman, he is a pillar in his community," she said.

Strong work ethic

Molina's business sense and work ethic came from his grandfather, he said, a farm worker who worked hard to provide for his family.

"It was something he wanted to instill in me," Molina said.

Growing up, Molina was poor, but that didn't stop him from achieving his goals. It also gave him a sense of duty to his community.

"I come from poverty," he said. "I come from food stamps. I dislike when people say they shouldn't give handouts. It wasn't a handout. Here I am 20 years later contributing even more to those programs because I am able to.

"I think it's patriotic to know I am helping somebody that might not have what they need to survive and could be one of our future leaders."

Forsyth said Molina seems to work tirelessly, getting involved in everything from the farmers market to HUBFEST to Live at Five concerts and this summer's Levitt AMP concert series at Chain Park.

"He just doesn't seem to have a lazy bone in his body," Forsyth said. "He just seems to be always working for the betterment of the community and for the betterment of his family and to make sure his business does well.

"He seems to always be working very hard. He's just a fine young man."

Molina also is a single father, raising a daughter and son, who go with their father most everywhere he does when they are not in school.

He said he likes to spend time with them and show them what hard work can do.

"Carlos spends all of his free time with them," Rehner said. "He's a great guy."

Although work seems to relieve stress for Molina, he also enjoys doing stand-up comedy and often attends open mics at the Keg and Barrel.

He said that's another way to bridge the cultural divide.

"People are afraid of what they don't understand, but if you can relate to them, that eases the tension in the room," Molina said. "And it's nice to diffuse stereotypes."

Carlos Molina

Residence: Oak Grove

Age: 35

Occupation: Owner, La Mexicana restaurant

Education: Bachelor's degree in international business, University of Southern Mississippi, 2017

Family: Son, Carlos, 9; daughter, Anna, 7

Best piece of advice for other young professionals: "Never settle for good enough. Always ask yourself what you can do to improve yourself and your business. Never stop. It's a continual learning opportunity. Don't try to do it all at once. The journey of 1,000 miles starts with one step."

Top 12 Under 40

The Pine Belt is full of young professionals who have achieved career success, all while making a difference in their community. On the third Sunday of each month, the Hattiesburg American will recognize one of these young professionals as part of our Top 12 Under 40.